The Royalty Nerd

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Last night, Queen Camilla took us all by surprise by debuting the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara for the first time!

You might recognize this tiara: it was a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II and she wore it frequently to events and for some of her most recognized portraits.

Created by Garrard, the tiara was a wedding present from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Committee to Queen Mary, then the Duchess of York, in 1893. The Committee was led by Lady Eva Greville, not to be confused with Margaret Greville, who went on to become a lady in waiting for Queen Mary.

What was the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Committee? A group of women that came together to fundraise a spectacular wedding present for Mary. They raised so much money that there was 3000 pounds left over, which was donated to the families of sailors killed in the sinking of the HMS Victoria ship, also in 1893.

Queen Mary was a jewel lover, and she often altered her pieces or had them dismantled to create new ones. In many of her official portraits, she is absolutely dripping in jewels. In the above portrait, c.1912, you can see her wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara as it was originally set, with pearl toppers! When they were replaced with diamonds exactly, I cannot say.

She made another alteration to the tiara; the base was detachable so that Mary would wear it as a headband. She was nothing if not inventive with her jewels.

Queen Elizabeth married the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, and Mary decided that this tiara was an excellent gift. It had been a wedding present to her at first, after all.

Queen Elizabeth reunited the base of the tiara with the rest of the piece in 1969, and the rest is history. She wore the tiara often throughout her reign.

From left to right: 1961, 1967, 1986, 2008, and 2015. Of course, these are just a few times she wore the tiara. You can see as well in the first two that the tiara sits lower, because the base was not attached yet.

Here is a quick comparison for a better look. On the left, the tiara in 1962. On the right, 1981.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a favourite of not just the late Queen Elizabeth II, but of many royal watchers. It was predicted that we would not see it for a while due to its close association with Elizabeth. It was also suspected that the first person to wear the tiara again would be the Princess of Wales.

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But yesterday, at a dinner for the King and Queen in the City of London, Queen Camilla busted out not just the tiara, but more of Elizabeth’s jewels! The necklace she is wearing here is the diamond necklace given to Elizabeth for her 21st birthday.

The dinner is a tradition for British monarchs to attend in the City of London in the first year of their reign and after their coronation. While it took us all by surprise, it really is a fitting time for Queen Camilla to wear the tiara, in my opinion.

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She seems to have also made adjustments to the tiara. We know the frame is quite flexible because the base was/is detachable and it looks like Camilla opened it up a bit to suit her tastes. She has fantastic tiara hair and can rock those big gun tiaras that are wider than what we might normally see.

Compare that above image to this one:

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You can see that the base is tighter on Queen Elizabeth.

However it’s worn, and whoever wears it, I think we can all agree that is is a gorgeous piece. Say “thank you Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Committee!”